Microsoft Photos BUG: Previous/Next arrows not showing during Search

On April 1st (fantastic timing), an update of Microsoft Photos introduced a bug, where, when used in a list of Windows Search results, the previous/next arrows won't show up ... for most of them^[1].


[1] To clarify:

Click on any random image in a folder - previous/next arrows will show up, works.

Do a Windows Search with results in multiple sub-folders though, and things get tricky.

If you click on the first image in the results - previous/next arrows will show up, works.

If you click on any random image in the results that is NOT from the same sub-folder as the first image in that list — which for me is often 99% of them — previous/next arrows will NOT show up. Doesn't work.

Apparently similar issues have cropped up repeatedly over the years.

I've already gone to Apps>Settings>Microsoft Photos and tried both "repair" and "reset". Bug is still there. (Why does Microsoft keep messing with this? -_- )




There IS a workaround for this, sure, but in practice it creates unnecessary tedium.
^{(For anybody with the same issue, the workaround is: CTRL+A to select EVERYTHING in the search results, unselect the image you want to start at, then re-select it again, then hit the Enter key. Main downside is a much longer wait time depending on number of search results...... and that the "previous" arrow is missing for that selected image - anything prior in the list is now at the end of the list instead.)}


I am NOT asking to revert back to the Windows 7 Photo Viewer - I've already installed that too, and it works, but it doesn't display *.gif files and makes it kinda useless for me.

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I just so happen to have a backup of close to every single file on my PC (including the Windows folder) from just a few days prior to Microsoft Photos being updated.

My question is this: Would it be possible to restore Microsoft Photos to a previous, functional state by copying the relevant old *.dll or *.exe files from my backup?

I'd like to know if that is possible before I accidentally overwrite relevant files with my next backup. Also, you know, which files I'd need to copy. ^_^;


Sure, I might have to replace those files again later if Microsoft does another update, but I only have to do that until they actually fix the issue themselves.

...Which might take them another 2 - 3 months or so. - _-



I'd also be happy with the Microsoft Photos version that existed a while back (couple months ago, I think?) before they overhauled the whole app, since this would work as well, if that's available for download somewhere.

Malneb said:

This is how its always worked as far as i can recall. Although i could be wrong i have never really given this much thought before but i feel strongly like its always been like this.

What?? o_O

I'm sorry, but that's simply not true. I've been using it like this for years, and even on Windows 7 it worked like that. In fact I did still use this on March 31st and it worked. Then the Photos app updated and it broke, and things became very cumbersome for me.


The particular way when it works and when it doesn't makes it clear this isn't intended behavior.

Clicking on an image in your search results will show previous/next arrows ONLY, if these images are contained in the same sub-folder as the first image in your search results.

Which images give you the "previous/next" option changes depending on how you sort your search results, because a different sorting will put different sub-folders at the top of the results list.

Let me clarify the example I gave.



If you sort by Folder path, the first image in the list is "Sample Image (4)". All images from "Sub-Folder A" will now display a "previous/next" arrow when opened (highlighted in green), but none of the other images will.

"Sub-Folder A" may only have 4 images, but if you start at, say, "Sample Image (8)" you can hit "next" 21 times and browse ALL the images from the entire search results list.




If you sort by File name, the images where the next/previous arrows shows up are these:



This time, the first image in the list is from "Sub-Folder C-2". All images contained in "Sub-Folder C-2" now have previous/next arrows (highlighted in green), but none of the others will.


...And again, you can click on, say, "Sample Image (7)" and hit "next" and you'll be on "Sample Image (8)" that's in a completely different sub-folder.





Now imagine you have hundreds of images in your search results and you want to browse starting in the middle. So... yeah.

And using "CTRL+A > Enter" as a workaround is... very very slow (and has other drawbacks).


Hence the question: Can I restore the previous, functional version of Windows Photo Viewer from last month's PC backup? As in, copy an old .dll or .exe file from my backup?

Or is there like an unofficial download archive of older versions somewhere? They did completely overhaul Windows 10's Photos app just a few months ago, that version worked fine too. Maybe somebody uploaded it somewhere?

(And no, Windows 7's Photo Viewer won't do, it doesn't support .gifs)

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Malneb said:

This also makes sense for performance reasons. Example go to C:/ and do a search for .txt you will see that it takes ages to load the search now think of that same logic if photo viewer was doing the same thing it would be slow right?

[...]

i just tested this myself and the i/o is quite significant my browser actually lagged.

Uhm. If I understood that correctly, you began a search and then clicked on an image in the results before the search had completed?

You need to wait first for the search to complete before clicking on any of the images. Then you won't have performance issues like this. (At least I don't have them.) And yes, of course in that case I hardly expect the next/previous arrows to work when it hasn't even finished loading the results yet. ^_^;;

What i meant was search for a common file that will be basically all over your entire file system a .txt file is a file that will be found all over the place right, text files are common files.

Search for that file from your system drive so we will say C:/ unless you delete txt files for savings generally it should take quite a while. While doing a search like that if you try to do something else it could slow the system down. it was an example obviously common sense would tell me to wait i know this.

I did state at the start of my post that i was unsure and never really given it much thought before,
this is because i don't usually rely on searching from a directory i just path into where ever i need to go to from a command or i search for stuff through start menu or i just physically go there by clicking.

afaik its always worked as i thought it did in my previous post i must be wrong then news to me. Although that is how it works now at least.

IDK you seem to know the answers already so you could just try them. i guess ctrl+ A and enter is also not really that hard to do at the same time.

Ah, sorry if I came across as patronizing or aggressive, I guess we were just talking past each other. ^_^;;

Malneb said:

IDK you seem to know the answers already so you could just try them. i guess ctrl+ A and enter is also not really that hard to do at the same time.

yeah, but it has its drawbacks, and I was hoping to not have to deal with those for the next couple months until Microsoft fixes the issue eventually.

Hence my question on this forum, if anyone knows how to do that or which files I need to restore from my PC-backup's Windows-folder (or whichever folder is relevant for this).

preferably before I do my next backup which might overwrite relevant files by accident

I'd really like to restore the previous version of Photo Viewer from last month's backup or from a downloadable file online if that is at all possible.
^{(NOT the Windows 7 Photo Viewer, it does not support .gif files)}

Issue still exists.

There was an update to the Photo Viewer app on April 22nd, literally a day after my last post, ironically enough, but... the update didn't fix the bug, in fact I've discovered a new bug since then.

Yes there is a workaround, but it has severe drawbacks. I don't want to wait months until Microsoft fixes the issue themselves.

I still have kept my PC backup from late March, including system folders. Isn't there a way to restore the previous, functional version by copying relevant *.dll or *.exe files from there?

If not, I'd like to know that too, in which case I can overwrite my backup with a new version which is well overdue. :/

Irfanview - image viewer, with thumbnail viewer, have some editing/developing/retouching features. Later versions might have some unwanted software but that is to keep it free??? I use it non-stop. Bare in mind you might have to go into task manager every once in awhile to close an instance but beyond that it is best on windows. Can view raw files, can also play videos to some extent. Possibly the last viewer you will ever need on the planet for windows.

Adobe Bridge - Is what everybody should be using to browse images as a base in terms of "not free" software. However bridge is usually free. It shows information at a glance as with lightroom. CS6 is the earliest 64-bit model one should use ( but I am not sure about the bridge version ). Can be installed, or moved independently without other adobe applications/programs considering the

Camera Raw via photoshop ??? - So most Adobe Photoshop releases can work with Camera Raw. Camera Raw is independent of Photoshop and contains all if not most Camera ( the actual physical models ) information and allows for complete decoding. However bare in mind that recent releases have "changed" ( limited??? ) features, and is no longer using specific icons and shortcuts.
However you can browse entire photos from a camera with no problem, and view it "for what it is". Accessing Camera Raw is a shortcut key that should be present in no matter which photoshop ( free or not ) version you are using, and should be the first stop before delivering to lightroom. Only thing better is Irfanview or Bridge, or Capture1.